Alaska
Salmon Permit Values Show Some Ups, Mostly Downs Seafood News by Laine Welch - October 27, 2020 This is Alaska Fish Radio. I’m Laine Welch – Some ups but mostly downs for salmon permit values. More after this – The Alaska Marine Safety Education Association provides Coast Guard accepted Drill Conductor and other training for fishermen across Alaska. Learn more at amsea.org Did you know that eating wild and sustainable Alaska seafood can boost your immune system? Learn more about Alaska seafood’s many proven nutritional benefits at www.wildalaskaseafood.com. The value of Alaska salmon permits is ticking up in two regions while toppling in others. The bellwether fishery at Bristol Bay is one of the uppers for drift permits. Doug Bowen runs Alaska Boats and Permits in Homer. “Probably the lowest asking price out there right now is $170,000. Of course, the next big news here for the Bay would be the forecasts for next year, which are not out yet, and they could certainly have an influence on what people are willing to pay for those permits. But they have come up considerably from the low of $150,000 there before the season.” Kodiak was a bright spot for salmon seiners and those permits are on an upswing. “And before the season, those Kodiak seine permits were probably worth around $35,000. In recent sales they've ticked up around $38,000 and we have them available on the market now at $40,000. So they've trended up a bit.” Elsewhere, permit values have declined. At Cook Inlet, yet another lousy season has pushed down the value to $20,000 or less, the lowest since farmed salmon caused a crash in the late 1990s. “Those Cook Inlet drift permits got up to as high as $240,000 or $250,000 at the high water mark there and then when farmed salmon came along, the entire salmon industry crashed and the permit values dropped by 90% or more. I remember selling Cook Inlet drifts for $10,000 at the bottom.” The Copper River drift fishery also was a wash. “The fish just did not show up on the flats there. Before the season those permits were around $140,000 give or take, and recent sales are around $105,000. They've dropped a lot. There's not much movement there. Nobody wants to sell at those low prices.” Prince William Sound seiners did better, but those permits also have taken a dip. “And those permits were $140,000, $145,000 before the season. But even though they had a halfway decent season there you could probably pick one up for $130,000 now, so they've trended downwards also.” Bowen says the permit market reflects the disastrous salmon season at Southeast. “The market for the drift and seine permits down there is about flat. Just very little interest, very little movement in those Southeast permits. Before the season, you could have picked up a drift permit for $70,000. The lowest asking price out there now is probably $67,000 so I would imagine you could pick one up for somewhere in the $60,000 range. In the spring of last year, Southeast seine permits were around $250,000; the asking price now is $175,000.” Nowhere in Alaska has a salmon permit value dropped more than at Chignik, once the most exclusive in the state. “They were probably the most expensive salmon permit on the market for a while there at about a half a million dollars. And there has been absolutely no activity in that Chignik seine permit market. The lowest asking price around is probably about $90,000. But there is zero interest there.” Still, despite the downturns, Bowen says people are still optimistic about the salmon industry and boat sales are brisk. “I don't think anything demonstrates confidence in the industry as much as buying a boat and it's a huge investment and people are making them.” Fish Radio is also brought to you by OBI Seafoods -- an Alaska corporation proudly supporting Alaska’s coastal communities and the Alaskans who depend on fishing for their livelihoods and culture. In Kodiak, I’m Laine Welch. www.oceanbeauty.com https://www.seafoodnews.com/Story/1183861/Salmon-Permit-Values-Show-Some-Ups-Mostly-Downs West Coast B.C.’s commercial halibut season extended three weeks COVID-19 market disruptions at the root of DFO’s decision The Northern View by Quinn Bender - Oct. 26, 2020 B.C.’s commercial halibut season has been extended three weeks due to market disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. https://www.thenorthernview.com/news/b-c-s-commercial-halibut-season-extended-three-weeks/ International Russia Hopes to Compensate Unsuccessful Salmon Fishing Season by Increase of Pollock Catch This Year SeafoodNews.com by Eugene Gerden - October 26, 2020 Russia hopes to compensate the unsuccessful salmon fishing season this year with the increase of production of ivasi sardine, mackerel and pollock, according to recent statements made by the head of the Russian Federal Agency for Fishery (Rosrybolovstvo), Ilya Shestakov, during his recent meeting with the Russian President Vladimir Putin. During the meeting, which was dedicated to the situation in the domestic fishing sector, Shestakov said despite the pandemic, the current situation in the industry remains stable. According to him, this year the overall domestic fish catch will be comparable to the figures of last year and will reach about 5 million tonnes. Perhaps, one of the biggest problems, which prevents more active development of the industry at present, is the generally low demand for fish in the Russian market. According to analysts, there is currentlt only a stable demand for pollock, the cheapest sea fish in Russia – among the local customers at present. This is confirmed by the data of the Russian Pollock Association, according to which in the first half of 2020, only 120,000 tonnes of pollock and products from it were sold on the domestic market, which is a record figure in the last five years. These records, however, have not resulted in a significant increase of the per capita fish consumption in Russia, which remains on the level of 21 kg. In the meantime, according to Shestakov, in addition to traditional fish species for Russia, particular attention will be paid for the increase of catch in the Antarctic region. Part of these plans is the increase of krill catch. The annual volume of production will reach about 300,000 tonnes within the next 4-5 years. Most of it will be sent for further processing. Implementation of these plans will be also achieved by the expansion of the domestic fishing fleet, which, according to state plans and local fisherman, will be expanded by more than 100 fishing trawlers within the next several years. https://www.seafoodnews.com/Story/1183788/Russia-Hopes-to-Compensate-Unsuccessful-Salmon-Fishing-Season-by-Increase-of-Pollock-Catch-This-Year Environment/Science Understanding the Impacts of Climate Change on Economically Important Fish Species NOAA Fisheries - October 23, 2020 NOAA is funding a new collaborative project to understand how climate change might influence commercially important fish stocks. https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/feature-story/understanding-impacts-climate-change-economically-important-fish-species Federal Register North Pacific Fishery Management Council; Public Meeting A Notice by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration on 10/27/2020 The North Pacific Fishery Management Council (NPFMC) Ecosystem Committee will meet via webconference on November 12, 2020. https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2020/10/27/2020-23733/north-pacific-fishery-management-council-public-meeting Fisheries Off West Coast States; Emergency Action To Temporarily Extend the Primary Sablefish Fishery Season A Rule by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration on 10/27/2020 This emergency rule temporarily extends the 2020 sablefish primary fishery from October 31, 2020 to December 31, 2020. This action is necessary to provide operational flexibility so that vessels in the sablefish primary fishery are able to fully harvest their tier limits despite high economic uncertainty in 2020. This action would also extend the incidental halibut retention allowance provision for the sablefish primary fishery from October 31, 2020 to November 15, 2020 and set the halibut retention limit during this time period at 250 pounds (113 kilograms) dressed weight of Pacific halibut for every 1,000 pounds (454 kilograms) dressed weight of sablefish landed and up to 2 additional Pacific halibut in excess of the 250-pounds-per-1,000-pound limit per landing. https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2020/10/27/2020-23700/fisheries-off-west-coast-states-emergency-action-to-temporarily-extend-the-primary-sablefish-fishery Opinion Opinion: USDA to protect Alaska’s seafood from China’s retaliation We are confident that this approach is best for Alaska fishermen. Juneau Empire by Sonny Perdue - October 26, 2020 For years now, President Donald J. Trump has been standing up to China and other nations, sending the clear message that the United States will no longer tolerate unfair trade practices. While trade damage from unfair retaliation has impacted a host of U.S. commodities, including American seafood, President Trump is taking action on trade policy to open new markets so that American agriculture can compete globally. https://www.juneauempire.com/opinion/opinion-usda-to-protect-alaskas-seafood-from-chinas-retaliation/
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